That's the way the ball bounces...
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 12:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
auntbijouWell, it looks like Miss Priss may not be playing soccer this fall.
It's not that she doesn't want to. She does. Unfortunately, we start losing kids after about U-12. Kids who stay in soccer after U-12 usually want to play soccer for whatever college they go to, so they're serious about it. And that means they leave our league and play elsewhere. Why?
Well, for one thing, all the leagues around us have their fall soccer registration in June, and start their practices in July. Season starts the first weekend in September.
We had our fall registration the last two weekends, and next weekend will be draft. The teams will hopefully start practicing next week. This means our kids will have two weeks of practice before season starts. This isn't bad at the U-6 through U-10 levels, because U-6 and U-8 play mostly in-town teams, U-10 plays teams in Cedar Creek and Bastrop that are at the same level. But at U-12 and up, there aren't enough kids to make up more than maybe two or three teams. So, they have to play out of town teams. All teams who have been practicing together since July. Major disadvantage. It's usually the middle of the season before our kids catch up and start playing on the same level as the teams they're playing against.
I've raised this issue with the board many times, and they've listened to me enough to have registration in the beginning of August, rather than the middle.
Yeah, it's a screwy way to run a soccer league.
Those kids who want to play in college know they have to play on a select team in order to have college scouts look at them. Not that scouts don't look at rec teams, but... they focus on the select, because the best players usually manage to go select. And sometimes, like this year, there just aren't enough kids to put together a select team, much less a regular team. So, we lose kids who decide to play in San Marcos, Austin, or Bastrop. There are even a few who go as far as San Antonio to play select. That must be murder, having to drive to San Antonio two or three times a week, plus having to travel to wherever the games are, sometimes on Saturday and Sunday.
Miss Priss wants to play soccer in college. She's trying out for the junior high soccer team, and she's going out for track as well, because she figures running track will help her conditioning. And she wanted to play select this season to keep in shape, because school soccer isn't until spring. We've got two coaches who wanted to work together on a U-13, U-14 select team. And only 3 kids signed up.
*sigh*
We sometimes get late registrants, but this year, we have high gas prices, and a sucky economy to compete with. And it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Soccer understandably comes last.
We will just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I guess I'll be doing a lot of kicking around in the backyard this fall.
It's not that she doesn't want to. She does. Unfortunately, we start losing kids after about U-12. Kids who stay in soccer after U-12 usually want to play soccer for whatever college they go to, so they're serious about it. And that means they leave our league and play elsewhere. Why?
Well, for one thing, all the leagues around us have their fall soccer registration in June, and start their practices in July. Season starts the first weekend in September.
We had our fall registration the last two weekends, and next weekend will be draft. The teams will hopefully start practicing next week. This means our kids will have two weeks of practice before season starts. This isn't bad at the U-6 through U-10 levels, because U-6 and U-8 play mostly in-town teams, U-10 plays teams in Cedar Creek and Bastrop that are at the same level. But at U-12 and up, there aren't enough kids to make up more than maybe two or three teams. So, they have to play out of town teams. All teams who have been practicing together since July. Major disadvantage. It's usually the middle of the season before our kids catch up and start playing on the same level as the teams they're playing against.
I've raised this issue with the board many times, and they've listened to me enough to have registration in the beginning of August, rather than the middle.
Yeah, it's a screwy way to run a soccer league.
Those kids who want to play in college know they have to play on a select team in order to have college scouts look at them. Not that scouts don't look at rec teams, but... they focus on the select, because the best players usually manage to go select. And sometimes, like this year, there just aren't enough kids to put together a select team, much less a regular team. So, we lose kids who decide to play in San Marcos, Austin, or Bastrop. There are even a few who go as far as San Antonio to play select. That must be murder, having to drive to San Antonio two or three times a week, plus having to travel to wherever the games are, sometimes on Saturday and Sunday.
Miss Priss wants to play soccer in college. She's trying out for the junior high soccer team, and she's going out for track as well, because she figures running track will help her conditioning. And she wanted to play select this season to keep in shape, because school soccer isn't until spring. We've got two coaches who wanted to work together on a U-13, U-14 select team. And only 3 kids signed up.
*sigh*
We sometimes get late registrants, but this year, we have high gas prices, and a sucky economy to compete with. And it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Soccer understandably comes last.
We will just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I guess I'll be doing a lot of kicking around in the backyard this fall.
